Microsoft Engineer Found Dead at Work and Family Warns of Overworking

A 35-year-old Microsoft engineer died at work in Silicon Valley last month and his family is now warning companies of overworking their employees.

Pratik Pandey was “found face-down” at 2 a.m. local time on Aug. 20 in Mountain View, Calif., on Microsoft’s campus, according to the Palo Alto Daily Post.

An initial report from the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner indicated that Pandey suffered a heart attack, community leader Satish Chandra told the Daily Post.

Chandra said Pandey, who emigrated from India for school in the 2010s and previously worked at Apple, had felt stressed before his death and had no known health issues.

Police found “no signs of any suspicious activity or behavior,” Bloomberg reported.

A Mountain View Police spokesperson told the outlet that Pandey’s death was not being treated as a criminal investigation.

PEOPLE contacted the Santa Clara County Coroner’s Office and the Mountain View Police Department for further comment but did not immediately receive a response.

A Microsoft spokeswoman declined to comment to PEOPLE.

In an interview with the Daily Post, Pandey’s uncle Manoj described him as “overall, a very positive person” but said he’d become known for pulling late nights at work for a “very extended period of time.”

He came into the office shortly before 8 o’clock the night before he died and was found in a courtyard on Microsoft’s campus, according to his uncle.

Manoj is cautioning the tech giant and other companies about the dangers of overworking and the importance of helping employees deal with job pressure.

“That will probably save a life,” he told the Daily Post.

Pandey earned a master’s degree from San Jose State University and, in addition to Apple, previously worked at Illumina and Walmart Labs before starting at Microsoft in July 2020.

“A joyful soul with a radiant smile, Pratik loved playing soccer, great son & friend,” read an announcement for a viewing service held in the Bay Area of California on Thursday, Aug. 28.

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Pandey worked on Microsoft’s Fabric product, which is used to analyze data and competes with companies like Snowflake Inc. 

“It’s a lot of pain for the family when a loved one passes away,” his uncle told the Daily Post.